Vigor of Twelve is a play off of the fact that Jesus had twelve disciples. It is a name that helps stress an importance on discipleship. This blog is specifically geared for younger people and mature Christians who don't mind a fresh, bold, and blunt approach to faith. Comments welcome, let's begin the discussion!

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Saturday, June 2, 2012

Acts 18:18-23

After
18 months in Corinth, Paul took his disciples, Priscilla and Aquila and headed
for Syria (Antioch). On the way, he came
upon Cenchreae he had his hair cut because of a vow. When they sailed on to Ephesus, Paul left
everyone and went into the synagogue.
The Jews there received him and wanted him to stay, but he
declined. He sailed back home to Syria
and spent some time in Caesarea and then in Antioch. Having made a report to the folks in Antioch,
Paul goes again through Galatia.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul
cut his hair because of a vow. We don’t
really know much about what is going on with Paul with respect to this vow,
although most people think it has something to do with the Nazarite vow in
Numbers 6. Many people believe that
after Paul had his trial with Jesus in Corinth he wanted to rededicate himself
to the Lord. Perhaps Paul took the vow
as a sign of gratitude for the fact that the Lord allowed him to complete yet
another journey. We can only guess that
this is what Paul is doing in Cenchreae.
But either of these options seems logical. Paul just came through a great time of
frustration and spiritual growth. He was
now headed back home. What better time
to rededicate oneself to the Lord?

Have
you ever dedicated yourself to the Lord – really dedicated yourself? If so, what/who held you accountable? When you completed your vow, how did you
feel?

{The Nazarite vow was the Jewish means
for adult dedication. A person would cut
off all of their hair and then they would not shave again until the time of the
vow ends (or until the vowed deed was accomplished. At that point the person would bring the
prescribed sacrifices to the temple and he would shave his hair again. All of the hair would be offered upon the
altar as a sign of the person’s faithfulness to the vow.}

Second Thought:

When
the group gets to Ephesus, Paul leaves his companions and goes into the synagogue
to preach. There could be a few reasons
for this. It could be that Paul doesn’t
want to subject his disciples to the Jewish persecution any longer. It could be that Paul sees Ephesus as a quick
stop for him and he wants to get to the synagogue before having to leave
again. For whatever reason, Paul goes
alone. It seems as though Paul has great
success. He is invited to speak again,
but he must decline. However, he
promises to be back.

Isn’t
it neat to see how God takes the opportunity to set up Paul’s future? Now Paul has a reason to take another
missionary journey – he needs to come back to Ephesus to talk to the Jews
further!

Third Thought:

When
Paul returns back to his homeland, he lands in Caesarea. He spends a little time in Caesarea – and
maybe he goes to Jerusalem (this is what may be meant by “going up and greeting
the church.”). But his focus was on
Antioch. He wanted to get home. He wanted to get to the people who had
commissioned him so that he could encourage them with everything that God had
done in Greece.

Why
should we remember to be excited about returning to those people who support
us? Why should we look forward to coming
home? Who or what should be the focus of
our homecomings?